Sighting and working of quick-firing ordnance



No. 792,972. PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905. A. T. DAWSON & G. T. BUGKHAM.

SIGHTING AND WORKING 0F QUICK FIRING ORDNANGE. APPLICATION FILEDMAR.14,1904.

1o SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905, A. T. DAWSON & G. BUOKHAM. SIGHTING AND WORKINGOF QUICK FIRING ORDNANGE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR 14, I904.

10 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

No. 792,972 PATENTED JUNE 20,1905.

KHAM. AND WORKING 0F QUICK FIRING ORDNANGE.

A. T.'.DAWSON (in G. T. BUG

SIGHTING APPLICATION FILED MAR. 14, 1904.

10 SHEETS-SHEET s .fiZZ/EIZL GIJ (9 5755 m 2? Ja waaia ;:9627 ax/r/zajrINQM.

' Kala wed PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905 A. T. DAWSOE' 6; G. T. BB'GKHAM,SIGHTIN ND WORKING 0P QUICK FIRING ORDNANGE.

APPLICATION FILED MAE. 1%, 1804.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 4,

IIo- {792,972. Y PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905. A. T. DAWSF" & G. T. BUGKHAM.SIG'HTING'AND WORKING OF QUICK FIRING ORDNANGE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.14,1904.

10 SHEETS-SHEBT 5.

PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905. A. DAWSON & G. T. BUGKHAM. SIGHTING AND WORKINGOP QUICK FIRING ORDNANCE.

APPLICATION FILED MA'R.14,1904.

10 SHBBTS-SHEET 6.

No. 792,972f PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905. A. T. DAWSON & G. T. BUOKHAM.SIGHTING AND WORKING 0F QUICK FIRING ORDNANCB.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.14,1904.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 7 9 J m y J I, I, t '1 Q PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905.

' AFT DAWSON & G T. BUCKHAM. .SIGHTING AND WORKING OF QUICK FIRINGORDNANG APFLIOATION FILED MAR.1,1004.

m izeavea,

10 SHEETEr-SEEI'I 8 I W W? No. 792,972. PATENTED JUNE 20, 1995. A, T.DAWSON 6: G. T. BUGKHAM.

SIGHTING'AND WORKING OP QUICK FIRING- URDNANGE. APPLICATION FILEDNARA/1,1904.

10 SHEETSSHEET 8.

25 2:57 6 added 172' 5/6/33 5 073;

3 I aflfflaz .200" 0/2 No. 792,972[ PATENTED JUNE 20,1905.

A. 1". DAWSON & G. T. BUOKHAM. I SIGHTING AND WORKING OF QUIGK FIRINGORDNANGE.

APPLIOA TION FILED MAR. 14, 1904 10 SEEETSSHEET 10.

Zflz'www jive/2222b" (fliZiur'ZTJau/dvia ijd Zzac/ lazw Patented June20, 19115.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON AN jGEoReE HoMAs 'BUQKHA'M, F g -t MINSTER, LONDON,ENGLAND} ASSIGNORS To. Viennessous a MAXIM LIMITED, OF VESTTVIINSTER,ENGLAND.

SIGHTINGAND WORKING 0F QUICK-FIFHNG essence;

SPEGIF ICATI QN forming part of Letters PatentNo, 792,972, datedJ IApplication filed March 14;, 190a, Serial No. 198,167-

' specification.

'ence to the accompanying Our invention relates to the sighting andworking of quick-firing ordnance, and is for the purpose of effectingthe same in a more efficient, reliable, and convenient manner thanheretofore.

Our invention consists chiefly in arranging the sighting, elevating; andtraining gear of the mounting so that the operations of sighting,elevating, and training maybe independently performed by three men ornumbers which, for the sake of easy identification, We 1 willhereinafter refer to, respectively, as N o.

1, No. 2, and No. 3.?

We sometimes arrange that all the three men or numbers shall be situatedatone side of the mounting in close but not inconvenient proximity toeach other and sometimes that they shall be situated two on one side ofthe mounting and one on the other. In the latter case We preferablysituate Nos. 2and3 on the left-hand side and No. 1 on the righthandside, and we thenprovide means to enable No. 1 to Work the sight thatNo. 2 is using, the said sights being at opposite sides of the mounting.I

In order that our invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into efiect, we Will describe the same morefully withreferdrawings, in. which Figure 1 is a left-hand side elevation, Fig. 2a right hand side elevation, and Fig.,3 a plan, of apedcstal-mountingfor aquick-firing gun with our improvements,applicd thereto. 1 Figs. 4,5, and 6 are similar-viewsishowing a modification. Figs. 7, 8, and 9 arealso simi-- lar views showing; a -fu'rthermodification.

Fig. 10 is a transversesection taken-approximately on the line 11 ofFig.6;-'and Fig. li, a transverse section taken approximately on the line 22 of Fig. 6, showing,:.on' a larger scale, the means for enabling thesight setting number when situatedat one side of the mounting to actuatethe sight of the elevating-number for elevation: or deflection at theother side of themountings Fig. 1*2is a vertical section takenapproxiz'nately on the line 3 3 of Fig. 10. Figs. 18. and 14:are-longitudinal. detail sections showing twozmodes of enabling theextremities-oi the cross-bar form ing part of the sight-connecting meansillustrated by Fig. 10 to be read-ily engaged'or disengaged with or fromthe sighting apparatus. Fig. 15 is a detail plan ofanarrangement fordeflecting the line of sight; Fig. 16 is a front elevation of the rangedrum or disk, and Fig. 17 is a frontelevation of the deflectiondrum ordisk. I

Like letters of reference indicate similar parts in all the figures.

A is the gun, adapted to recoil intQ e cradle A,- which is trunnionedin. the niountingB.

C is the'hand-wheel' of the sighting-gear,

D the hand-Wheel of the gun-elevating gear,

and E the hand-Wheel of the training- .3,"ear.

B,B are platforms whichcare attachcdto the mounting and uponuwhichthefir'nen or numbers stand in workingthe'sighting, el'evating, andtraining gear. I

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2. and 3, in which allthe'three'numbers are'situated on the platform B ,.one-behindthe otherat one side of the mounting, 0 is the sight at cf to a bracket 0attached to the cradle A of thegun, so that said sight moves with thegunq'during the elevation orde ir'essio'n thereof. Movement of the sightal'iout the hinge c is gearing with a pinion a, that receives its motionfrom a worm-spindle (5,Mll10ll is actuated from the hand-wheelfl andbevel-gear proper, which in the example shown is of the telescopic typemounted on'a bar-c, hinged effected by a toothed segment 0 on the bar a,

ing 0 C is the range drunror disk, which .in front of the said disks ordrums C and C and actuates them in accordance with the ordershe receivesfrom the oficer in command, thereby'changing the elevaticn anddeflection of the sight, as required. The hand-wheel D of thegun-elevating gear imparts motion to a toothed wheel (Z, gearin with atoothed segment (1' on the gun, a. cell understood. No. 2 actuates thisliand--yh-Jel while looking through the sight 0 and steadies himself during such operation by leaning against the shoulder-piece D. He alsohas control of the firing-lever or pistol-grip D for firing the gun. Thehand-wheel Eof the training-gear is mounted on a shaft 1, connected by aflexible joint with another shaft that carries a worm-gearing with thetoothed ring, by which the gun is turned laterally about its verticalpivot in the ordinary way. No. 3 actuates this hand-wheel in accordancewith the directions he receives from No. 2. The position 4 of No. 3behind No. 2- ,enables him to train the gun within rough limits from hisown observation by means of a rough laying-sight :1: .r, Figs. 1. and 3,lixed on or in close proximity to the sight 0. which No. 2 uses.position of this rough laying-sight is such that No. 3 can use it bylooking over the shoulder of No. 2. in giving the required elevation anddeflection to the sight. by No. 1 the sight 0 has a tendency to moveaway from the eye of No. 2. To counteract this, No. 2 works theelevating-gear of the gun so as to keep his sight on the object inavertical plane, and he gives directions to No. 3 regarding thetrainingfor lateral movement. No. 2 fires the gun as soon as thesighting has been properly etiected. As No. 3, who trains the gun, issituated behind No. 2, it is obviously necessary or the training-wheelto be situated at a considerabledistance from the mounting. In

order to avoid large brackets projecting from may employ a ball-joint0X, as represented in' The Figs. 4 and 6. Vve preferably make thetraining hand-wheel E of larger diameter than usual inthis class ofmounting, and in order to allow man No. 2 ready access to and from hisposit-ion on the platform 3' we make said hand-wheel capable of beingswung into or out of position. For this purpose the end of the shat'ttto which the hand-wheel E is connected is fu rniehed with a hinge e",which enables the said hand-wheel to be turned from the position shownby the full lines in Fig. 3 to the position indicated by the dottedlines in this figure, so as to be out of the way of man- No. 2 when heis taking his -place behi d the sight 0 on the platform '3, as statedabove. In order to secure the said hand-w heel in its operativeposition-that is to say, the position represented by the full lines Weprovide a detachable pin or bolt 0*, which engages with holes thatcoincide when the hand-wheel assumes this position.

In Figs. '7 and 9 the training-shaft z is ar ranged at an inclination tothe axis of the gun, so that sufiicient space is left between it and themounting to enable the man No. 2 to reach his position on the platform Bwithout requiring the training hand-wheel to be made capable of turningabout a hinge on the training-shaft. This arrangementof thetrainingshaft also enables it to be shorter than in the arrangementsillustrated in the preceding figures, so that it is not necessary tohave the ball-joint or the toothed gearing arrangements on said shaft.

E is an auxiliary train i ng hand-wheel which is situated on the side ofthe mounting oppo site to that occupied by the men Nos. 1, 2, and 3, ande is a sighting apparatus situated in a convenient position to be usedby the man working this auxiliary training-wheel IC' when standing onthe platform B" Thissight may be of the telescopic kind or of theopen-bar type, as shown in this example. By provid-- ing the aforesaidauxiliary hand-wheel 1*), a well as the hand-wheel I), the training canbe effected from either side of the iounting. This provision necessaryin view oi the fact that as the opening in the armor of the cascmate isrestricted it sometimes happens that the view'ot' the sight isobstructed on one or other side of the mounting when the latter istrained hard over in either direction. Thus in the mounting illustratedby Figs. 1 to 4. it the man No. 2 who does the sighting were tn findthat his-line of sight were obstructed, as aforesaid, the man on theright-hand side 01" the mounting would have to train the gun by hishand-wheel E in accordance with the directions of man No. 2. The saidauxiliary hand-Wheel E also enables two men to simultaneously train thegun when the ship is rolling or tossing to a considerable extent andwhen greater power is required for this operation than could beconveniently obtained by one man.

ITS

veaeve In the modified arrangements illustrated by Figs. 4 to 8 and 7 to9 we arrange for the sighting to be effected by man No. l situated onthe plati'orm B and for the elevating and training of the gun to beeffected by men Nos. 2 and 3 situated on the platform B. In thesearrangements the sights c and c", of which'there is one on each side ofthe mounting, are adapted to be actuated simultaneously, both as regardselevation and deflection, by the man No. 1. For this purpose we providethe worm-gearing of the two sighting apparatus with cranks orcrank-disks 0 which are coupled together, so as to avoid the effect of adead-center. This may be effected by a bent connecting 'od c", which isprovided near its middle with a crank 0", carried by a bracket A on thegun-cradle. The said crank-disk 0 may, however, be connected together byany other suitable means for enabling the two sights to be both elevatedsimultaneously. rod with a ready means of attaching or detaching thesame to or 'from the crank-disks 'and for enabling it to be readilyadjusted.

For this purpose the said connecting-rod c" has at its ends ascrew-threaded plug 0, engaging at one end with the said rod and at theother end with a socket 0 Fig. 14, that is coupled With the crank-pins 00f the disks 0". The said screw-threaded plug has a nut for enabling itto be turned for lengthening or shortening the cross-rod in accordancewith the direction of its revolution. A lock-nut a is also provided forretaining the said plug in its adjusted position, or the said plug maybe adapted to receive at its outer end a screwthreaded pin 0, Fig. 13,and a nut-lock 0 For enabling the ready connection and disconnection ofthe con meeting-rod with the said disks a the sockets 0 or thescrew-pins 6- may be formed with divided bearings, one member of whichis pivoted at c to the other, so as to permit of their being separatedor opened when required, a hinged stirrup-piece or clip 0, carried byone of said members, being adapted to engage with the other member tofirmly retain the two membersin their closed position. e also connectthe two sights by a quickly-detachable crossbar a, Fig. 11, so that thelateral movementor de fiection of the right-hand sight willsimultaneously impart a correspondingmovement to the sight at theleft-hand side of the mounting. This cross-bar has an adjustable nut 0for enabling the length of the cross-bar to be varied For initiallyadjusting the sights relatively to each other. The ends of the said barsare also furnished with thumb-pieces or spring-catches c by means ofwhich the bar can be readily disconnected from the sights, if sodesired.

For the purpose of indicating the range we employ a large drum or disk0, mounted in We provide the connectingarrange the pointer tof rvO1v'e-- with lresp'ect 1 to the drum or disk, asiinf Figs, 5, 8 a r id16. As the movements are very smalla'tfshort ranges, we sometimesprovide a'special "indicator arrangement 0; iOI nectedwith the axle ofthe movable pointer C gearing,

so as to .work after tl1e n'a nner o fjtheseconds-hand of a watch, therehave large graduation sv well as for long ranges. v I For the purpose ofindicating the deflection or d rift we provide alarge drumv or disk Fig.17, which maybe graduated in deae' insu to short ranges as I gree's orknots, as maybe desired, saiddrum or disk moving with respect to a fixedpointer, as in Fig. 1, or being fixed with respecttolfa' movable pointer(1 arranged to travel'over its surface, as represented in Figs. 5, 7,and 17,

With a quick -firingmounting fixed'infa casemate the sights areal-rangedyery close to the sides of the mounting'in order toiavoid an excessivecutting away of the armor for the sighting-aperture. This position ofthe sights is found to be rather inconvenient for the gunner. In suchcases we provide a telescopic or other sight with deflecting-prisms orreflecting-mirrors 0 0 Fig. 15, so that although the eyepiece 0 of thesigl'itis ata satisfactory distance from the center of the mounting andin a convenient position for the gunner the actual line of sight cc amay be close to the center of the mounting, thereby avoiding thenecessity of having a large sighting-apertu re in the armor or shield.

hat we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

1 In a gun-mounting, the combination with the sighting elevating andtraining gear and the means for enabling the operations of sightingelevating and training the gun to-be independently performed by separatenumbers; of a platform movable with the mounting and upon which the saidnumbers stand while performing their function, a support on saidplatform for the outer part of the training-gear shaft, a comparativelylarge hand wheel mounted thereon, and means for enabling'said hand-wheelto be shifted into and out of its operative position for the purposespecified.

2. In a gun-mounting, the combination with the sighting elevating andtraining gear and the means for enabling the operations of sightingelevating and training the gun to be independently performed by separatenumbers; of a platform movable with the mounting and upon which the saidnumbers stand while performing their function, a support'on saidplatform for the outer part of the training-gear shaft, a comparativelylarge hand wheel hinged thereto, and a detachable locking-pin forsecuring said hand-wheel to its shaft when itis turned into itsoperative position substaniallg as described.

3. In agun-mounting, the combination with the sighting elevating andtraining gear and the means whereby the operations of sighting elevatingand training the gun can be independently performed by separate numbers;of means whereby thesight used by the gun-elevating number can beactuated for range and deflection by thesighting-number who is situatedon the opposite side of the mounting substantially as described.

4:. In a gun-mounting, the combination with the sighting elevating andtraining gear and the means whereby the operations of sighting elevatingand training the gun can be independently performed by separate numbers;of two,

sights one of which is situated at each side of the mounting, means forenabling the sightsetting number to actuate one of the sights, a bentconnecting-rod detachably coupled at each of its ends to a crank formingpart of the sighting apparatus at each side of the 'mountlng, and acrank supporting the said bent connecting-rod. from a bracket on thegun-cradle substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In agun-mounting, the combination with the sighting elevating andtraining gear and the means whereby the operations of sighting elevatingand training the gun can be independently performed by separate numbers;of two sights one of which is situated at each 'sideof the mounting.means For enabling the ARTHUR TREVOR DAVVSGN. GEORGE THOMAS BUCKHAM.

Witnesses:

(J. A. SEARLE, JOHN J. SHIELDS.

